Did Benedict Cumberbatch name his son Christopher Carlton Cumberbatch?
Seriously, how could I NOT re-use this photo?
Well, our wait is over. We might finally know the name of Baby Hunter-Cumberbatch. Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter welcomed their son into the world several months ago – and I personally believed that they announced the birth weeks after the fact – and while they announced the birth and the fact that they had a boy, they never announced the name. We assumed it was a purposeful omission. Bendy and Sophie wanted to make sure that they didn’t famewhore their kid (the same way they famewhored their engagement). There were no photos of Baby Batch and it was pretty much radio silence about the name. Until now!
There’s been wild social media speculation over what Benedict Cumberbatch has named his baby but I can reveal the Sherlock star – who opened to rave reviews as Hamlet at London’s Barbican Theatre last week – and wife Sophie Hunter have settled on the rather elegant moniker Christopher Carlton Cumberbatch.
Christopher was the name of the character Benedict played in Sir Tom Stoppard’s TV adaptation of Parade’s End, while Carlton is a family middle name shared by Benedict and his actor father Timothy. Benedict and Sophie’s baby boy was born where all the stars choose to have their babies – in the plush Portland Hospital in Westminster – on June 1.
First off, the name: I think it’s perfectly lovely. Christopher is a nice name and it was very popular when I was born – I knew about a million Christophers growing up. It’s possible it had significance on one side of the family too. “Carlton” is a family name on Bendy’s side – his middle name is Carlton, as is his father’s, and his dad uses “Carlton” as his stage name. So, Christopher Cumberbatch. It has a nice sing-songy feel. Chris Cumberbatch is fine too. I hope they aren’t calling him C.C. Or “Triple C” or whatever.
Secondly, the date: they didn’t get around to confirming the birth publicly until June 13th, remember? So they really did wait almost two weeks after the birth. Which is a thing that some celebrities do, to let the public know that celebrities don’t owe anyone a glowing birth announcement. So, did they hold the announcement because they wanted to enjoy nearly two weeks of peace without crazy Cumberbitches freaking out on Twitter? Or did they hold the announcement for another reason altogether?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Instagram, Getty.
